Unsolicited
by Wings of an Era
Summary: The Justice League needs to enlist some unusual help after an unsuccessful mission involving the shadow realm. Kaiba never can get through a crisis without someone barging into his office. Yugioh characters borrowed from Vathara's Universe. No pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer; Justice League and Yugioh belong to their respective creators, I'm just borrowing them.

JL takes place before JLUnlimited. The Yugioh characters are borrowed from Vathara's universe. Takes place after Roll the Bones.

This plunny came from a comment one of my friends made about Lex Luthor having nothing on Seto Kaiba. (In all honesty I'd have to agree. Kaiba would eat Luthor for breakfast.)

**Unsolicited**

"We need your help." Superman said with his usual bluntness. Seto Kaiba scowled.

"I don't do heroics." Kaiba sneered. He was more than a little irritated that the Man of Steel had barged into his office both without an appointment and without calling first. Kaiba was running a business after all. (Usually only Mouto had the audacity to so disrupt a work day.) "If you want someone to save the world, find Mouto." Yugi certainly had enough practice.

"You can't intend to just ignore the situation!" Superman started with angry disbelief. "The hostages.." He cut off abruptly at Batman's curt hand motion.

"If you are quite finished wasting my time…" Kaiba began but was interrupted as the office door burst open and a dark blur streaked past.

"Nii-sama! Security said two men got past and…" Mokuba Kaiba skidded to a halt and did a double take. The twelve year old VP's eyes widened as he took in the two costumed vigilantes.

"Actually Mr. Kaiba, we need your help to locate Mr. Mouto, it seems his… abilities make it impossible for us to pinpoint his location." Batman stated calmly.

"You're here for Yugi?" Mokuba blurted. Batman acknowledged the younger Kaiba with a slight nod.

"Look him up in the phonebook." Kaiba said icily.

"But Nii-sama, Yugi's on vacation, remember!"

"Their _**problem**_ has absolutely nothing to do with Kaiba Corp. If they want to locate Mouto they can do it themselves. Aparently I have security guards to fire."

"The Blue Ace Factory is a newly acquired Kaiba Corp property." Batman hissed. "And after the turmoil involving five members of your board, I seriously doubt your company could handle any more bad PR." They glared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Kaiba scowled.

"Mokuba," Kaiba directed, his eyes still focused on the lenses of Batman's mask. "Does Mouto have his duel disk with him." It was more a statement than a question, like Kaiba was sure of the answer.

"Of course Nii-sama, he carries it everywhere now." Mokuba rushed over to his brother's desk and pulled out a small laptop, the same laptop he'd hauled around durning battle city as the Game Commissioner. His small fingers flew over the keyboard.

"The GPS should be able to pick up his duel disk's signal. Especially sence we made those new modifications."

It took Less than a minute for the system to locate Yugi Mouto. And in the next two Batman and Superman were on their way with the coordinates.

"I don't trust him." Clark muttered angrily. "No one on the up and up could be so cold. He didn't even bat an eye at the mention of hostages."

"We can trust him." Bruce looked at his friend with a smirk. "He gave in a little too easily. He was waiting for us to give him an excuse to help." Clark stared at him in disbelief.

"I think you hit your head harder than I thought when you tried to get in that factory."

Bruce laughed and Clark was surprised at how _relieved_ the sound was. They'd all been feeling a bit worn over the past few weeks. The League had been spread much too thin. And then there'd been the factory, which none of the League, even with all their powers, had been able to get into.

Batman had tried blowing a hole in the shadowy dome over the factory, but the blast had rebounded and even with Superman's quick save they'd both been a little worse for wear. Now Bruce was laughing as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders.

"I know Kaiba's type. He'll do anything he can to help, so long as he can disguise it as a selfish action."

The hard lines around Clark's eyes and mouth eased.

"An ally then." The alien said quietly.

Bruce just grinned.


	2. Chapter 2

Story Notes;

/Ryou's thoughts to Bakura/

//Bakura's thoughts to Ryou//

* * *

…_Still no word from inside the factory, and we're entering the twelfth hour sense the standoff. No one knows the condition of the twenty-six hostages inside. Every attempt to enter the building has ended in failure. The strange black dome obscuring the factory has turned back everything from police smoke grenades, to the Justice League, with no visible distinction…_

After leaving Cascade Solomon had decided to extend his vacation to spend some quality time with his grandson that didn't involve long-lost sons, shadow games, or giant angry burgers. Of course Solomon was too conscientious to allow Ryou to travel alone so the trip included the Tomb Robber as well.

Solomon had taken the two boys to a charming beach side hotel. It wasn't the right season for tourists, so the price had been decent, and the service exceptional. The water was much too cold for swimming, but they had the beach mostly to themselves. The sun was shining, the breeze was gentle and fragrant; all in all, the perfect day for a picnic.

Ryou was just on his way back with drinks when he noticed two men standing next to (dwarfing) Yugi and Solomon.

They were all too far away for Ryou to make out their faces but it appeared as if the two men were wearing **capes**. And _Tights_. Whatever they were discussing couldn't have been good. Solomon's posture was rigid and Yugi was gesturing wildly. Ryou sped up, readjusting his grip on the sodas.

As he got closer, Ryou's first impression was that the two men where Duel Monsters. But neither looked like any he'd seen before. Only when he was close enough to clearly make out the symbols emblazoned on each man's chest (A Black bat on one and a red and yellow S on the other) did it hit him.

The Justice League! THE JUSTICE LEAGUE! Ryou just about fainted. But they wouldn't be here for Bakura. Ryou was sure Yugi would have warned him.

So Ryou took a deep, calming breath, pasted a sickly smile on his face and kept going. He had just about reached them when a third, green skinned man, flew in from the sky and joined the other two. FLEW! Ryou really, really hoped they weren't after Bakura.

//As if merely flying would make them a match for me.// If anything Bakura sounded petulant. Ryou ignored Bakura and tried to catch what was being said.

"…man calling himself Shadi approached us. He told one of our colleagues that the only way to save the hostages was to find Yugi Mouto."

//Not that blasted Priest again!// Bakura complained. //He never can mind his own business.//

"We can explain later." The green man (Martian Manhunter if the news reports were to be believed) said, voice devoid of inflection. "We need to leave now."

Yugi nodded. Solomon just looked resigned. "I'm too old for this." He grumbled, before turning to Batman. "I'll give you what notes I have on what to expect after you get the hostages out." He then addressed the other two heroes. "If you want my blessing you're not going to get it, but if you're asking for parental consent… I don't like it, but you have my permission to go on ahead. I'll join you there once Batman and I have finished."

There was a flash of movement, too fast for his eyes to follow and suddenly Ryou was in the air, having dropped the drinks. He was being carried by Superman! Ryou squeaked in surprise and a little fear when he looked down and saw they were already flying over the water. Flying so quickly the wind was whipping Ryou's long hair into his eyes and mouth and the water below was parting in their wake.

Inside, Bakura was seething.

This alien had grabbed _his_ host without _his_ permission and now had needlessly frightened said host and was taking him only Ra knew where! Needless to say, Bakura was less than pleased.

Ryou relinquished control and in the blink of an eye Bakura had a knife to the alien's throat.

Superman eyed the knife and laughed. "Kid, you're going to hurt yourself with that."

Bakura snarled, irritated at not being taken seriously, wrapped the knife in shadows and lunged at Superman's throat.

Bakura purposefully ignored the hero's jugular, instead slicing lightly just under the alien's jaw.

Clark was so shocked at the sudden pain that he dropped the boy, clamping a hand to his bleeding throat.

Bakura, pleased that he had made his point, summoned Change of Heart. The Monster caught him before he'd fallen three meters.

Clark quickly got over his surprise and glared at Bakura. Ryou squeaked from his soul room.

/Great Bakura, now you've gone and made SUPERMAN man at us. If we weren't in trouble before we certainly are now!/ Ryou wailed.

//Don't be a spoilsport Yadonoushi; it was just some harmless fun.//

/Harmless fun? HARMLESS FUN!? Bakura; Cow-tipping, pick-pocketing, and messing with Yugi's wardrobe count as harmless fun (except for the cows) STABBING SUPERMAN IS DEFINATLY NOT ON THAT LIST!!!/

//Alright, alright. By Ra, it's not like I really hurt him.// Bakura grunted, wincing at the decimals Ryou 'voice' was reaching.

Ryou shoved a sulking Bakura back into his soul room.

"Uh, sorry about that." Ryou shrank back into Change of Heart's embrace as Superman's glare intensified. It was hard not to be intimidated knowing the Kryptonian could bend steel beams with his bare hands.

J'onn J'onzz finally caught up to them then, carrying Yugi with the utmost care. Or rather, carrying **Yami**.

Yami rolled his eyes.

"Can't take that blasted Tomb Robber anywhere." He muttered.

"If we could continue?" The Martian Manhunter said levelly. "We need to reach the factory with all haste."

"Ryou, it's faster to let them fly us there. Our monster won't be able to move as quickly. "Wasn't Bakura listening to the explanation?"

"What explanation?" Ryou complained. "I see you talking to some guys in tights and all of a sudden one of them grabs me without so much as a by-your-leave. How did you expect Bakura to react?" Yami's cheeks flushed.

Ryou knew the Pharaoh had been distracted by the disturbances echoing out from the Shadow Realm. Bakura had been more than a little twitchy too. But Yami never forgot to take Bakura into account. He must be more worried by these events than any of the others had thought.

//Set damn it all! Of course the little Pharaoh is worried, hikari! Don't you feel it? The shadows are pulsing.//

Superman's glare was now directed to encompass Yami as well.

"What exactly is going on?" The Man of Steel was not pleased. Yami sighed in exasperation. When it came to Bakura, Yami often felt more like a babysitter than anything. The Pharaoh looked up at the Martian.

"It might be best if you took Ryou. If you show Bakura the proper respect it shouldn't offend his delicate sensibilities," Yami sneered. Ryou thought Yugi's other half had been spending too much time with Kaiba lately. "I'll explain things to…" here the Pharaoh paused, red eyes flashing as he took in the Kryptonian. "…Super Man?" He said the hero's name as if confused by it.

J'onn nodded and carefully handed Yami to a now wary Superman. J'onn then approached Ryou and bowed as gracefully as if he wasn't standing in midair.

"If you would allow me." J'onn asked politely.

"Finally! An alien with manners!" Bakura exclaimed, taking over abruptly. He allowed J'onn to take him from Change of Heart and then dismissed the monster. They then set off again, J'onn quickly falling behind. Superman now eyed Yami with disapproval, blood still dripping down his neck.

Yami glared right back at him, annoyed.

"Isn't your friend a little young to be carrying knives?" Superman said, going into full-blown boy scout mode. Yami snorted.

"We are shadow mages, it would be foolish to go unprotected." Superman looked at Yami in disbelief.

"You're children." Clark was outraged. When he first saw Yugi and Solomon Mouto on the beach, not a half-hour ago, he'd thought Solomon was the one they'd been instructed to find. Bruce however, had known immediately and had addressed Yugi from the start. When Clark realized the Gothic looking, less than five feet tall _child_ was the one they needed to get into the factory he'd been reluctant to proceed. But time was of the essence, Solomon had given his permission and as long as the kids were kept as far as possible from any conceivable danger from the dome, Superman shouldn't have any need to worry for their safety. Now Clark was beginning to rethink his position. Yami laughed condescendingly.

"We may be young, but we are not children." Despite the fact that Yami was being carried bridal style by a man nearly three times his size he held himself with regal dignity.

"How do you expect to get us through the dome?" Superman changed the subject, suddenly uncomfortable and making a mental note not to let either of the kids out of his sight. "It sent back everything we threw at it." Yami's smile was all teeth.

"It is a Shadow Game. You and your colleagues won't be going in at all. Bakura and I will be the only one's to enter."

"WHAT!" Clark took a deep breath to calm himself, but children in danger was never something he could take lightly. "If you think any of us would let you go in at all, let alone by yourselves…" Yami cut him off.

"You won't have a choice. Only those who walk the path of shadows may enter into a closed shadow game once the game has begun."

"Game? This is not a game! There are hostages in that factory!" Superman was genuinely angry. Yami gave the hero a level look, no longer irritated. For a moment, the Man of Steel had reminded him of Joey, furiously trying to defend his friends. Likely Superman knew one or more of the hostages.

"It is a game." Yami informed him. It the alien had friends inside the factory that was now ground zero for a shadow game, he deserved to know the truth. "And the stakes are much higher than you realize. The loser of a shadow game forfeits their soul." Superman went quiet and the rest of the trip was passed in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

The trip was shorter than Yami expected. The aliens flew FAST. He probably would have enjoyed the sensation of flight in any other circumstances. But with Superman radiating tension and disapproval, and the steadily stronger pulses from the Shadow Realm as they neared the factory Yami was too preoccupied to give the view more than a passing thought.

Once they were close enough to see the tell-tale black dome stretched over the building Yami noticed the swarm of reporters.

"Don't let them see me." He instructed Superman. The Man of Steel gave him one of his patented 'looks'.

"I have gained some notoriety recently and I would rather not announce to the world that I have magical powers." Yami snapped.

"We'll set down out of their line of sight." Superman patronized. "I'm not going to get a minor involved in a media frenzy." He spoke not unlike he would when addressing a young child. Yami scowled.

Yugi tried to placate his other half. / I don't think he is trying to offend us, Yami./

/Perhaps not, aibou. But he IS offensive./

Superman stayed high enough that none of the reporters would be able to get a decent look at his passenger before darting down to land inside the property wall, keeping his body between the cameras and Yami. The walls around the factory were plain brick, unattractive and utilitarian, but they were built primarily for privacy so Yami would not need to worry about being seen.

On the other side of the wall were three people (One of whom did not appear particularly patient) waiting for their arrival. One man (the impatient one) wore a red spandex suit and was speaking very quickly long before Yami was in ear shot.

"-re this is him? He's awfully short isn't he? Wait! He's a kid! What gives, Supes? Why'd you bring us such a little guy?"

Yami's expression only darkened at this continued disrespect. The other two (a black man in black and green spandex being supported by a skimpily clad woman with dark hair) seemed to notice this and stepped forward as Superman landed and Yami regained his feet.

"How is Hawkgirl?" Superman asked, bypassing his comrade's questions.

"She's still unconscious." The woman answered. "John's ankle is definitely broken-"

"I can still fight." John interrupted her. (Yugi thought the news had called him Lantern). "But Flash is right, why did you bring the kid?"

The other alien, J'onn, landed then. J'onn put Bakura down carefully.

Bakura laughed mockingly and Yami glared.

"We are not children, we are _**shadow mages**_, and we are perfectly capable of managing ourselves." Yami managed to get out between grit teeth. Bakura chuckled wickedly, enjoying Yami's irritation immensely.

Superman turned to give Bakura another disapproving 'look' and Flash (Yugi supplied this name as well) gaped as he got a good look at the blood on the Kryptonian's neck.

"Supes is bleeding!" Flash zipped closer to get a better look.

"Yes." Superman replied sharply.

"It seems this Shadow Magic is quite potent." J'onn J'onzz commented dryly. The Flash whistled, clearly impressed.

Yami rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is a gift for lalunaticscribe for her lovely review. Thanks for reading ^_^

* * *

Now that he was closer to the dome, Yami could feel the malicious shadows throbbing angrily like a panicked heartbeat. It was enough to set his teeth on edge and to cause the small hairs on the back of his neck to rise.

Flash was hovering around Superman, looking worried and spouting nonsense. Apparently seeing the Man of Steel bleed was not a common occurrence.

"You should bandage that." Yami directed the superheroes absently as he stepped closer to the dome to inspect it. "Wounds inflicted by the shadows will be much slower to heal than normal injuries." Bakura chuckled darkly.

Flash set about bandaging Superman's neck while Bakura joined Yami in examining the shadow game dome, J'onn following along silently.

"What are you able to determine about this anomaly?" J'onn asked politely, he had not missed the intent expressions on either of the young faces.

"You must be joking. There is no way these kids are our experts." Green Lantern said with a pained grimace as Diana helped him hobble closer. J'onn sent him a half-frantic signal to shut up, eyes widening almost comically. Fortunately Yami and Bakura were both currently more interested in the ongoing shadow game than any perceived insult.

"We are dealing with someone without any training in shadows. No one who knew what they were doing would ever create something so unstable. No doubt the creator has been consumed along with the building and the hostages." Yami answered J'onn, but he seemed to be speaking more to Bakura.

"How is that possible?" Diana asked with a kind of mortified curiosity. This time it was Bakura who answered.

"In the right circumstances, it only takes someone desperate enough, someone hurt enough not to care about the consequences to call on the Shadows and start a Game." Bakura's voice was surprisingly somber, and he looked at no one but Yami during his explanation.

"The one who started this Game likely used their life and soul to compensate for lack of power and ability. Regardless of the outcome of this Game, we won't be able to save the one who started it." Yami continued, eyes narrowed and fists clenched.

Diana jerked back in shock, nearly dropping John. Once the two of them righted themselves, Green Lantern did his best to stare Yami down.

"We don't just write people off. Even if they are criminals." Green Lantern hissed, sounding genuinely angry. Yami didn't flinch. He met Green Lantern's gaze, scarlet eyes blazing into green. It was John who looked away.

"The one who started this Shadow Game used their soul to fuel it. There will not be anything LEFT once the Game is over." Yami's regal disdain was almost palpable and the fire in his words burned at Diane and John even as he clarified the situation for them.

"But how do we get inside?" Superman interrupted the battle of wills as he and Flash joined the conversation. Flash had done a surprisingly good job. The gauze around the Kryptonian's neck was as neat as any ER doctor could manage.

Bakura laughed. "Foolish alien mortal! You would not last five minutes in a Shadow Game!" Bakura's laughter only became creepier once he spotted the blood still seeping through Superman's bandage. But his point was a valid one. None of the Justice League had any defenses against the Shadow Realm or its magic.

"Then what do you suggest?" Superman tried his best to be polite but Bakura was really starting to annoy him. The Man of Steel had never met anyone who got under his skin more than Bakura.

"We will go alone." Yami answered. And before anyone could fully process that statement, Yami and Bakura had both stepped through the dome.

The Justice League was left outside, unable to follow.


End file.
